Container conveyer and distributor



July 5, 1938. c BERGMANN 2,122,769

CONTAINER CONVEYER AND DISTRIBUTOR Filed 00? 27, 1936 IN VEN TOR.

O O 5M Patented July 5, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlci:

1 2,122,109 coa'mmaa comma AND ms'ramu'roa Christian N. Bergmann, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor of two-sixth! to Charles M. Clarke, Sewickley,

' Application October 27, 1938, Serial No. 107,841

8 Claims. (Cl. 198-32) My invention is an improvement in distributing conveyers for containers such as bottles, cans, or the like and is particularly adapted to the art of conveying milk or other bottles as from two I washing or other machines to a single filling machine, or to any other desirable or usable receivautomatically operating switching construction at the junction of a main conveyer between the feeding conveyersfor' placement on the intervening main delivery conveyer of the plural streams or series of bottles, as from two washers or the like, at opposite sides of said conveyer.

20 In my prior application filed September 11,

1936, Ser. No. v100,304 is disclosed a system of somewhat similar means, whereby; a constant stream or train of bottles may be conveyed and delivered to the ultimate one of a series of ter- 25 minal receiving stations, and to one or more intermediate laterally disposed stations automatically, as controlled or limited by the absorbing or receiving capacity of the several receiving stations or their supply conveyers.

In the present case the what reversed and provide for any arrangement of apparatus where it is desirable or necessary to convey, for instance to a single filling machine, the output'of two individual washers, both com- 35 bined being of a less or equal capacity of reception of the final receiving filling machine, or of any other element, at a terminal receiving station. I In the present application"I therefore utilize 40 a single receiving and delivering conveyer located between the oppositely disposed inwardly moving delivery terminals of laterally arranged conveyers, each leading from a supply station-to 45 said main delivery conveyer, for reception and transportation of the contents of both to the single final receiving element, as a filler or the like.' At such junction are also provided bridging and guiding elements whereby under normal or varying operating conditions .the conveyed units may pass from the lateral trackways onto the main one for travelling support thereby.

The invention is also designed to maintain the feed of units to such final delivery station sub- 55 stantially in proportion to the lateral supply and conditions are somethe absorbing or receiving capacity of the intermediate delivery trackway.

Referring to the drawing showing one preferred construction and arrangement: I

Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view showing the junction of the main and lateral conveyers;

Fig. 2 isa vertical sectional view on the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of a switching junction cover plate embodying the transfer bridge sections.

' Ordinarily, the present common practice is to convey bottles from a washer to each filling machine by separate independent conveyers. Where the capacity of the filler is sufiicient to absorb the output of say two washers, such result can be accomplished by feeding the units inwardly at each opposite side ofthe main delivery conveyer by the modification or re-arrangement of the conveyers and the junction bridge, as disclosed herein.

I show in Flg. l the junction of the three cooperating conveyers in which the conveyer 3 may be understood as leading to any utilized receiving station, as a filling machine A.

A similar conveyer 4 leads at substantially right angles from an individual washing machine B to conveyer 3, and a similar conveyer 5 leads thereto at the opposite side from another individual washer C or the like, neither of which nor the filling machine are shown in detail.

Each such conveyer is of conventional form utilizing a conveying belt or chain 6 of suitable construction, flexible vertically as commonly practiced and driven by any suitable means, as a motor geared with the usual head shaft of each conveyer.

Itwill be understood also that the speed of conveyer 3 is suiliciently greater than that of conveyers l and 5, and preferably slightly faster than the combined speeds of both, for reasonable reception of the loads of both. Thus for instance the speed of conveyer 3 may be fifty feet per minute, and of eachconveyer 4 and 5 twenty two feet per minute, providing a reasonable excess capacity in conveyer 3, if desired.v

In'other words the receiving capacity of the delivery conveyer 3 is preferably in suflicient excess of the delivery capacity of both conveyers I and 5 to avoid undesirable excess supply, jammi e, overloading, or the like.

The construction of the several conveyers is 0t any well known type to provide movement on a common level of closely adjacent unit-supporting and carrying slats l0.

At the junction of the several conveyers I provide'a comparatively thin flat supporting bridge section I! forming a portion of a covering plate 13. Such plate as in Fig. 3 is provided with clearance openings l4, M for the adjacent terminal portions of the lateral conveyer sections 4 and and with a middle clearance opening ii for the chains and slats oi conveyer 3 between inwardly extending slat-supporting flanges l6.

As shown, each such lateral supply conveyer 4 and 5 is off-set from the other more or less dependent on the size or the bottles a, and they are sufliciently out 01 cross alinement with each other so that the several incoming bottles from opposite sides will be delivered alternately or otherwise onto the slats of conveyer 3 without Jamming or interlocking. It will be understood that as the conveyed columns or units are thus oppositely and inwardly delivered each individual unit thereof will be received by conveyer I and carried away towards station A at a considerably faster speed than that of either conveyer 4 or 5 and preferably at a faster speed than the combined speeds of both. In such manner, as the units are delivered inwardly they will be received and carried outwardly in a continuous stream, so long as the units are supplied by conveyers 4 and 5, or either of them.

The plate I3 is adapted to be laid across the 4 gap portions at the junction and is preferably 01" the supporting on a level slightly below that slats l0, providing an ample supporting platform for the straight or lateral movement of the units. The several trackways are defined by the travelling base slat members "I and between guiding sides ll of suitable construction to maintain the bottles erect with easy clearance in their passage. At corner portions such sides may be conformably rounded or sloped to provide for easy lateral travel and middle placement on conveyer 3 of the incoming units, as delivered from oneor both conveyers 4 and 5 to the middle conveyer 3. In other words, .as each unit passes from the terminal of conveyer 4 or 5, over the bridge section i2 and onto the slats oi conveyer 3, its direction of .travel is gradually changed upon first contacting and then sliding over onto the middle of the slats.of conveyer 3, and theunits will thus be received and carried by it, first around the corner junction and then longitudinally to the delivery terminal of conveyer, 3.

#Ihus the advance movement of the units towards conveyer 3 places them successively in engaging relation to the slats of such conveyer, by which they are then conveyed in a direction substantially' at right angles to that of the feeding conveyers 4 and 5.

It is important also to oiI-set'conveyer 4 from conveyer 5 more or less, as indicated by the broken section line 11-11, so that each unit as it arrives over the slats of conveyer 3 will be out of v alinement with the opposite oncoming unit. Because of the greater speed of conveyer 3 each unit will be quickly moved away as thus received, such 'arranged at an angle fer the oppositely delivered supply units in the manner described.

While the application of the invention to the conditions stated, wherein the output 01' two oppositely located washers is received and delivered to a single filling machine is entirely effective, it will be obvious that the invention is equally applicable to other conditions. For instance, assuming two oppositely located filling machines as at stations B and C and an intervening conveyer leading to a single station as for instance a loader, or a work bench or the like, at station A, the conveyers 4 and 5 in such case will transfer filled bottles or. the like to such final receiving station with the same facility.

, The invention will therefore be understood to be usable in connection operating conditions.'

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a longitudinal conveyer adapted to receive conveyed units from opposite sides and to deliver them to a receiving station, a pair of oppositely moving lateral conveyers each thereto at opposite sides, and a unitary bridge plate having a middle clearance opening and slat-supporting flanges for the longitudinal conveyer-and lateral bridge sections at each side of the middle opening providing skidway supports from the. lateral conveyers to the longitudinal conveyer.

2. In combination, a longitudinal conveyer adapted'to receive conveyed units from opposite sides and to deliver them to a receiving station,

, a pair of oppositely moving lateral conveyers each plate and off-set from each other, and supporting bridge sections between said clearance openings and the middle clearance opening.

4. Means for conveying upright cylindrical units as bottles consisting of the combination of a main delivering conveyerand oppositely arranged inwardly approaching lateral branch conveyers leading thereto on a common plane, said lateral conveyers being slightly oiT-set from each other for alternating distribution of oppositely approaching units toward and to the main conveyer for single line non-interfering placement and movement thereon, guides for the main conveyer, guides for the lateral conveyers having at one side thereof corner clearance convergence with the guides of the main conveyer, the speed ofthe main conveyer being sufficiently faster than that of the lateral conveyers whereby to receive and carry away in a single row or column such alternately distributed units without junction interference, and

bridge on said common plane between the main conveyer and each branch conveyer providing a slgidway support for units moving from either branch conveyer directly to the main conveyer.

5. Means for conveying upright cylindrical unitsas bottles consisting of the combination of with any other similar a stationary supporting a main delivering conveyer and oppositely arranged inwardly approaching lateral branch conveyers leading thereto on a common plane, said lateral conveyers being slightly oil-set from each other for alternating distribution to the main conveyer for single line movement thereon, guides for the main conveyer, guides for the lateral conveyers having at one side thereof corner clearance convergence with the guides of the main conveyer, the speed of the main conveyer being sufficiently faster than that of the lateral conveyers whereby to receive and carry away in a single row or column such alternately distributed units without junction interference, and a unitary bridge member at the junction of the main and branch conveyers consisting of a plate having a supporting surface flush with all of said conveyers and provided with a middle clearance opening for the terminal portion of the main conveyer and lateral clearance openings for the terminal portions of the branch conveyers. 1

6. Means for conveying upright cylindrical units as bottles consisting of the combination of a main delivering conveyer and oppositely arranged inwardly approaching lateral branch conveyers leading thereto on a common plane; said lateral conveyers being slightly off-set from each other for alternating distribution to the main conveyer for single line movement thereon, guides for the main conveyer, guides for the lateral conveyers having at one side thereof corner clearance convergence with the guides of the main conveyer, the speed of the main conveyer being sufliciently faster than that of the lateral conveyers whereby to receive and carry away in a single row or column such alternately distributed units without junction interference, and a unitary bridgemernber at the junction of the main and branch conveyers consisting of a plate having a supporting surface flush with all of said conveyers and provided with a middle clearance opening and inwardly extending supporting flanges for the terminal portion of the main conveyer and lateral clearance openings for the terminal portions of the branch conveyers.

CHRISTIAN N. BERGMANN. 

